He is a member of the faculty of the Department of History as well as the CUNY Graduate Center.
From 1980 to 1984, he served as Chairman of the Department of History, before being appointed Associate Provost.
Kimmich served as Interim Chancellor of the City University of New York from November 1997 to September 1999.
Under his leadership, the quality of admitted students increased and more than 300 new faculty members were hired.
Kimmich has written several books on German foreign policy in the period between World War I and World War II, as well as articles on this subject and on other subjects in German history.